SC Flashcard Q2: "under threat of .."

[cyy12345]

Hello everybody,

In the SC Flashcard question number 2, there is the following sentence:

If I was the owner of our building, I would demand, under threat of eviction, that you should cease playing your djembe at all hours.

I am fine with the two errors related to subjunctive mood. However, what I don't understand is the part "under threat of eviction".

My first question:
Why should one not change "under threat of eviction" to "with the threat of eviction"? Who is under threat here? My interpretation is that the person who said this sentence was threatening the person who played djembe. Don't you think by saying "I would demand, under threat of eviction..." here, one gets an impression that the speaker is under threat, rather than threatening the djembe player? Following this logic, I think it is necessary to change "under" to "with".

My second question:
Why don't we add a "the" before the word "threat"? Somehow "under (with) the threat of eviction" sounds way better to my ears..

Thanks in advance!

[tim]

The answer to both of your questions is that there is nothing wrong with the way those portions of the sentence are written. If you can't find a specific rule in our SC strategy guide that tells you something is wrong, don't assume it is wrong just because you don't like it. The biggest mistake students make on SC (I would contend the ONLY real mistake that ever gets made) is eliminating answers for bogus reasons. Do not make up your own rules, or you are likely to eliminate the correct answer by mistake.